Justice
by The Other Person
Summary: Kel, her friends, family and enemies in a modern AU. Kel has left the police force to bring down some very bad people and encounters danger, tragedy and romance. Will she be able to overcome her past and her hurt to achieve justice?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **all of the characters in this are the property of Tamora Pierce, i own nothing but the original ideas

Anders sighed as he leant against the old café and waited for his little sister to turn up. He never knew whether she would already be there waiting for him with that smirk on her face or if he'd be there from anywhere between five minuted to an hour before she turned up. Usually she would call or send a message of some kind if she was going to be that late, she did possess some manners after all. Anders though that she just lived to her own schedule, one that was impossible to predict or to know if you weren't her, although that rich doctor friend of her certainly managed to keep up with her and put up with her oddness, or was it that she put up with him, that boy definitely was a strange one but the two of them, despite their differences, seemed to just click together. He glanced at his watch for the third time and shook his head, twenty minutes he'd been waiting here for her and he was starting to get cold, the weather really wasn't compatible with standing around for ages.

"Grey, miserable and –" Ander's flinched as a big fat raindrop landed in his eye, and reached up to wipe his face "-raining, absolutely perfect! Where the hell is she?" he grumbled to himself, he'd much prefer to be back at the precinct writing reports than be out here, his leg was starting to ache in the cold the result of a wound he'd gotten in the line of duty that had never truly healed, after all magic didn't exist and modern medicine could only do so much for a wound as bad as his. It had taken him out of active duty but he helped out anyway he could, after all it was his life, he'd never wanted to do anything else, luckily he could help out his younger brother Inness with a lot of his cases, detective work didn't always require two healthy working limbs so he did what he could and this is where Keladry comes in.

His little sister had wanted to be a cop as well and even their parents, while not totally happy with it, had not stopped her. However, something had happened with his first year or so and she'd given up her badge and gun (though only her issued one, he denied he knew anything about the other ones she owned, _and _her collection of knives) and left. It didn't stop her desire to help others though so he would meet her here, outside the old Burnt Toast café or some of the other places round the city that she decided were fitting and give him some bits of information that would help them, officially she was labelled a CI (confidential informant) but most of the cops knew about her, she had quite a fan base back at the precinct.

The back of his neck prickled and he looked up and glanced around and saw Kel walking towards him dressed as she normally was in a pair of light blue raggedy jeans tucked into a pair of dark, scuffed combat boots with a casual shirt and black jacket with her hair pulled up in a short pony tail with a couple strand left to fall around her face. He straightened up so he was no longing leaning against the wall, his cane in one hand. Kel smiled as she met his eyes and spread out her arms and gave him a quick, warm hug with a kiss on the cheek, which he returned with the same warmth, after all she was his little sister, no matter how long she'd kept him waiting.

"So sorry Anders, I got caught up, didn't mean to be this late " Kel explained with a slight frown on her face that he'd only have seen if he was looking, Kel was famously straight faced.

Anders sighed and shifted into a more comfortable standing position for his leg, "It's alright Kel, would've been nice to have a little warning though, especially in this weather"

Kel's face drooped and she glanced down to his leg and back up to his face "Now I feel even worse, I promise what I've got for you will be worth it" She gave him a small smirk as she handed over an envelope "Open it up back at the office alright? I promised Neal I'd meet him for lunch, he said he had a surprise for me"

Anders looked down at the brown envelope in his hand and hefted it slightly "It's got a bit of weight to it little sister, will I be able to use it?" He was always worried about how much of her information was legal, after all they'd have to throw out anything that was obtained illegally but Kel was reliable, one of the reasons she was so popular, she gave evidence of the legality of everything she handed over, the few times it was illegal she always told them and fabricated a way for it to be acceptable, an anonymous tip or something.

She nodded "All legal, I made sure of that, told my boys and girls if it wasn't id get them in the ring with me ", her smirk from before widened and her eyes twinkled as Anders laughed. Kel was known for her fighting skills and nobody would willingly want to go up against her. Her smirk dimmed "After all, I've been wanting this for quite some time, I won't let some carelessness ruin it for me and for you guys" She nodded "well, gotta be off, promised Neal" She waved as she turned and sauntered off with hands in pockets and soon disappeared down one of the many streets.

Anders shook his head and tucked the envelope under his jacket so it wouldn't get soiled in the rain that was moving from the occasional drop to reasonable heavy and he knew if he didn't get out of it he'd be soaked to the skin soon and he didn't want to risk ruining the papers. Lifting the arm with his cane he hailed a taxi that was thankfully empty and scooted inside.

"Corus precinct please"

The cabbie nodded "Sure thing sir" and pulled off into the traffic.

Anders leant back against the uncomfortable seat, his thoughts on his sister, he hoped she was happy.


	2. Chapter 2

Kel's hands balled into fists within the confines of her jacket pockets. She hoped to hell that what she'd given Anders would help as much as she wanted it to, she'd been waiting for that information to fall into her lap for a while now. She let her shoulders relax and loosened her neck, there was no point meeting Neal when she was all worked up, he would notice and she'd ruin his surprise, he was always worried about her although he hid it well. Kel smiled softly, she was glad she had a friend like Neal, he was always there for here, there for her with extra dramatics, but there for her none the less. So forcing herself to relax and loosen up she turned down the street where she'd parked her bike. She chuckled when she saw a couple young guys on their bicycles paused next to the motorbike with wide eyes. It was a Triumph Rocket III Roadster and it was one of her joys of life. She wished she'd been able to afford it herself, but it had been a gift, Neal and all her friends and put in money, Neal and Roald more than the others, mainly because they had more money than the rest. Neal, because of his family's hospital and his own job as a doctor, Roald because his family was majorly loaded, which is what happens when your father has been a prominent politician for years and is the current President. She felt bad for letting them spend that much money on her but every time she looked at her bike it put a smile on her face and she just felt so free every time she rode it.

"Like what you see boys?" She smirked as they glanced up at her.

"Is this yours?" One of the boys asked, his gaze flicking between her and the bike.

She nodded as she grabbed her helmet off the back of the bike "Yep, Triumph Rocket 3 Roadster"

The boys oohed and aahed over her bike a bit longer and as much as she liked sharing the love of her bike, she really did have to go. Straddling the bike, she slipped her helmet on and flicked down the visor.

"Sorry boys, I gotta go" Starting the engine, she revved it as they rolled back from the bike and with a large grin hidden behind her helmet she raced off down the street, chuckling as she heard the cries of exclamation.

Dialling her speed back to legal, she drove down the freeway to where Neal's house was situated. He lived in a pricey area, but the house was not too over the top, Neal liked simple and his main interest was the huge library he had built in the house, mostly filled with obscure texts, medical journals and philosophical books. She would occasionally do some reading if she was visiting but today was not for reading.

As she pulled onto Neal's long driveway she pondered on what the surprise would be, Neal hadn't hinted at anything, odd for him, usually when he was excited he couldn't help but blab about it but not an inkling did she have. Slowing down even more, she admired the entry to Neal's house, gorgeous gardens filled with trees and ponds and flowers lined the driveway and she remembered playing in them when they were younger, her getting into everything with Neal trying to avoid as much dirt as possible. Chuckling at her memories, she came to a stop at the front of the house and sprang off her bike, took her helmet off and glanced up at the dark foreboding skies. She grimaced, if she left her bike out it would be soaked with rain by the time she came out, it was wet enough already.

She looked around and shrugged "A couple minutes more won't hurt him" she muttered to herself before rolling the bike round to the side of the house, she knew Neal had a small garage back here. Locating the garage she unlocked the door, Neal had given her the key when him and the others had given her the bike, so she always had somewhere to put it. Not that her own family were poor or something, but even a reasonably wealthy family would be stretched a little thin with nine children, and being the youngest she usually avoided relying on her parents. Pushing the door open she rolled the bike inside, just in time, as the rain really started to pour. Kicking the door shut behind her, she slid her motorcycle in beside boxes of Neal's old stuff, he'd made her promise that she would help him sort through all this crap one day, she'd agreed but they still hadn't gotten round to it.

Thinking of the pouring rain outside, Kel was thankful that when this garage had been built someone had been bright enough to add in a connecting door to the house, she wasn't averse to a little rain but she hardly wanted to sit around Neal's house sopping wet for a couple hours, especially since she still had no idea _why_ she was here. Patting the bit of water sitting on her jacket and stomping her boots on the coarse floormat she entered Neal's house.

Kel called out, "Neal? You told me to come and I'm here" She walked further into the house, the door had come out into the laundry, which was hardly suitable to meet friends in she supposed, so now she was at the foot of the dual stairs that curved up and out to the next story.

"You didn't bring that dog of yours?" asked a voiced that got louder as Neal moved into her area of vision from one of the side rooms that housed a large fireplace and a lounge suit, as well as a chess table that Neal absolutely adored that she'd given him for his 18th birthday.

She shook her head "He's getting a bit long in the tooth and I can hardly fit him on my bike" she replied as she moved to give him a friendly hug. Neal returned the hug and raised an eyebrow at her when he stepped back, a favourite expression of his.

"Well, I guess that explains why you're late, whenever you're out on that thing you get stopped by people looking"

Kel chuckled "Well yes, but I was also dropping some stuff off to Anders" She looked into Neal's eyes as she mentioned this piece of information.

Neal's mouth quirked to the side "Ah, I see, well, late is better than never so come, follow me if you will your highness"

Kel rolled her eyes at Neal's back as he turned and made his way back to the room, she trotted up next to him and put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I'm careful Neal, you know me" She knew he would be thinking about her 'job' if that was what you wanted to call it.

Neal's shoulders drooped and he looked at her from the corners of his eyes "I know Kel, but I worry about you constantly, I never know where you've been or where you're going, it was so much easier when you were with the police but this new thing? It's not good for you and you know it"

Kel sighed and removed her hand from his shoulder "Neal…" she tried to find the right words that would convince him "… I need to do this okay? As soon as I've done what I need to I promise I'll go back to my normal life and you can worry about me like you used to"

Neal threw his hands up "Yes, worry about you getting shot and stabbed, what a relief" he dropped his arms and grabbed one of her hands "At least you'd have a partner to look out for you, I can't do anything for you until after something bad has happened"

Kel met his gaze and saw the muted pain in his eyes and knew he was remembering the last time he had had to 'help' her. It was not a memory she liked to remember. She squeezed the hand he held and let go.

"I am always thankful you're here to help me Neal, don't forget that, you're my best friend and I love you" She said softly.

Neal blushed and shook himself "Enough of this sappy nonsense, I promised a surprise!" He grinned at her and led her into the room he'd left from earlier. Kel laughed quietly and followed him into the room, genuinely curious about what he had in line for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Kel stepped through the doorway behind Neal "So I finally get to know what this 'surprise' is do I Neal? I mean, after all, you've been bragging about it for days" she teased as he really had been going on about her surprise for days, holding it over her head. "What even is the occasion? It's not my birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah or some other holiday I do or don't celebrate"

Neal turned to face her, his hands on his hips, blocking her view of the room "No occasion, and you do NOT know how hard it has been for me, really I have been suffering dreadfully" he drawled in that insufferable tone of his.

Kel raised an eyebrow at him, mimicking one of his favourite expressions "Really, you've been suffering?" She highly doubted that, Neal loved to know things that other people didn't, loved to have that superior position, if only to gloat about it.

A third voice chimed in from behind one of the fully loaded (and then some) bookcases in the room "Oh yes, I've been getting on Meathead's nerves, or so I figured from his constant shrieking"

Kel looked over Neal's shoulder to see his cousin Domitan Masbolle walk out from behind the books. He smiled at her with that warm, familiar grin of his "Hey Kel, how you been?"

Kel returned his smile, matching the warmth in his "Dom, so you're my surprise?" she asked as she stepped around Neal to give him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

Dom hugged her back and released, allowing her to step back so she could see his face, "Yes, I was originally just going to rock on over to your house the other week when I arrived but Meathead here detained me and said –" Dom pulled a face and put on a high voice "- It's for the best dear cousin" he dropped back to his normal voice and shrugged his shoulders "Whatever that means".

Kel chuckled at his impersonation of Neal, who was at this moment scowling at his cousin, "I do not sound like that!" he cried, his voice reaching a pitch similar to that of Dom's mockery.

Kel grinned at him, her defences lowering as she only could around these two fools. "Well, I didn't want to tell you Neal, but now that you know-" she was cut off as he pushed her playfully.

"Oh Shut it", Dom met her gaze and winked at Neal's frustration.

A thought struck her as she mulled over Dom's phrasing and she turned to Neal, "Wait, what did you mean 'It's for the best?', the best for who?" she inquired.

Neal flicked his gaze from Dom to her and away, and shuffled on his feet, "Oh, it's nothing Kel", he mumbled, not meeting her eyes which meant that it was definitely something, Neal was usually a better liar than that, it was only when it seriously bothered him that his evasions broke down.

She stepped close and looked up into his eyes, her expression serious and said his name, her tone insisting. She noted in the corner of her mind that Dom was staying out of her questioning of Neal, obviously also interested in what he was hiding but willing to let Kel handle it.

Neal fidgeted a bit more before relenting, his shoulders slumping in resignation, "It was the best for you Kel, I knew you were working on something dangerous and I didn't want to distract you and put you at risk, you were just so focused" he explained softly, only meeting her eyes after finishing.

Kel realised that this was the reason she hadn't heard much from Neal over the past week or so and the colour drained from her face. How much did Neal know about her current investigation? Was he just generalizing? Or was he implying more? She quickly pulled down her mask before he could notice all the expressions and thoughts that must be flitting across her open face.

"Kel, are you alright?" Dom asked, his tone cautious, and she cursed inwardly, this was not a conversation she wanted to have around him just yet, so she would just have to talk to Neal later about this. She made herself smile at him, noticing the concern on his face as his eyes bored into her.

"Yes, I'm fine Dom, Neal was right, I was busy and I would not have given your return the attention it deserves" Kel responded, hoping he would leave it at that.

Dom frowned and her stomach churned as he searched her face for something, she wasn't sure what, so she kept up a calm façade with a will born from a tough life filled with tough choices (and a big family). He seemed to take comfort from this and his frown moved into his more customary smile. "well, now that you have time, we should get everyone together and go out for drinks" He came up to her and nudged her with an elbow "If what Meathead says is true, you're working yourself to death".

Kel had to stop herself from flinching at Dom's choice of words, death was a very real possibility in her line of work and she hoped it wasn't a prediction.

Neal recovered from his fit of awkwardness and almost dragged them to the setting centred around a low, rustic coffee table "Sit, sit, what's the point of these ridiculous comfy couches if we don't use them?"

Kel eyed the couches with reproach, they certainly were ridiculous, all bright green and blue stripes. Neal's taste is colour certainly leaned towards the eccentric, but she settled into one of the armchairs, Neal and Dome sharing one of the loveseats. She had to stifle a giggle at that, she didn't want to ruin the atmosphere. She gazed around the room while Dom and Neal chatted and despite the hideous seats it really was a lovely place, certainly it showed Neal's true personality. It was wall to wall books, almost a maze in fact, and each section had a different type of genre. She'd once mentioned off hand to Neal that she wouldn't be surprised to find a section dedicated to those tawdry historical romances and he'd looked away from her and blushed. Kel remembered gaping at him in a very unladylike way until he'd snapped at her to shut her mouth. It was now a long standing mission of hers to find them, for she knew he would not leave them on display, one day she would find them, most likely hidden away in a secret room behind one of the bookshelves, but Neal got suspicious when she went around systematically pulling book after book of the shelves in hope of finding one that triggered a hidden doorway.

She leant back in the armchair and looked at the cousins, both good friends and very much like brothers, after all, Neal had lost his elder brothers in the war and Dom fit that position very well. Kel was glad that she knew the two, they were always around when she needed them.


End file.
